Skittles
by BornThisWay
Summary: One Shot A vending machine, an empty hallway, a bag of Skittles. Completed 16.4.07, Please Read and Review ... Lilian ?


It's me, another one shot, another story people won't review and another piece that will vanish into the pages of stuff posted on here ... Yes Ladies and Germs, I'm in a smashing mood this evening ... seriously, this not being able to post business? I think it's highly overrated. This is for everyone who had to wait to read the latest Working Women update .. again, my apologies. Bear, your mush has arrived.

Disclaimer - I own nothing mentioned in this story except the idea. Duh. I'm no stalker, I get my information and facts from Wikipedia, baby!!

Oh and whilst I'm here, a little retroactive pimping sounds good; feel free to check out Snow Boots and The Outfit on my profile. Also, if you've got the time and you want to read some great fic-tivity, check out stories by PugNTurtle + Shout Diva, as well as a new writer called MarkedBlokey... that is all.

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"Stupid thing!"

Sighing, Lilian kicked the vending machine. It had eaten her change. Again. Her stomach grumbled, reminding her that she should have eaten before the show. Now the arena was almost empty, catering was closed, and she was positively starving.

"All I want is a bag of bloody skittles," She complained to no one in particular. "And this stupid machine can't even give me that."

Giving the machine another deft kick, she watched with hopeful eyes as the skittles she was after dangled from their little hook, so close to falling, but still so far. Leaning against the side of the machine, she slumped down to the fall holding her stomach.

"So hungry ..." The petite blonde whined to the empty halls. Of course, she could have gotten in her car and driven somewhere to find some food, but her rental had decided to do her another favour and die short of her hotel. Usually it wouldn't have been a problem ... but he'd left her as well, meaning that she had an cold bed and an empty hotel room to return to tonight. Forcing a smile she tried to ignore the pang in her heart. Now she was stuck her waiting for Melina to finish showering so they could leave and get something to eat.

Whistling softly, a former Intercontinental Champion wandering down the halls came across Lilian talking to herself. Hiding back behind a plant he watched curiously as she began to have a full blown conversation with herself, gesturing wildly with her hands.

"As soon as I get out of here," Lilian informed a poster of Stone Cold Steve Austin on the wall. "I'm going to drive to the nearest pizza place and have an entire cheese pizza to myself. Melina can get her own. Or maybe I want Mexican ... an enchilada sounds soooo good right now." Her stomach rumbled again, and the man hiding laughed to himself softly. Oblivious, Lilian continued talking to the picture, as if it was the most natural thing in the world to do. "Then, I'm going to go to one of those all night convenience stores and buy a pound bag of skittles. Maybe two," she added as an afterthought. "I'm really hungry. Oh, and a couple of cold ones wouldn't hurt either. I can't believe my rental broke down again, I really have to start using a different company. I wonder who Melina rents with, she always seems to get where she needs to be on time."

Bemused, he tried to hold back a snort, but it was too late. Overcome with laughter, he decided that if he was going to spy on Lilian he might as well have some fun with it. "Do you think if you keep talking to that poster of Steve long enough he'll talk back?"

Lilian jumped, the voice startling her. "Huh? Who's there?"

Stepping out from behind the fake fur he gave her a slight wave. "Hey Lilian."

"Oh hey," She muttered sheepishly, face burning red with embarrassment. "Didn't see you there."

An awkward silence followed as he shrugged and move to sit next down to her.

"So is he going to answer back?" He asked finally, pointing at the poster. "I don't know if he's much of a talker .. I hear he's a pretty good listener though."

"Ugh, I hope he doesn't talk back," She replied, crinkling her nose. "The last thing I need is someone else to tell me how bad eating an entire cheese pizza on my own is for me ... and then the pound of skittles ..."

Grinning slightly, he poked her lightly in the stomach. "Oh yeah Garcia, because you're such a tank," he smirked. "You weight what, a hundred and ten pounds? And that's pushing the envelope a bit."

"I have a fast metabolism," she explained with a blush. "Growing up my sister Dahlia was always so jealous of me because I could eat like a horse and it'd never show ... I guess you don't need to hear my life story though."

"I wouldn't mind knowing more about you," He smiled softly. "I mean, aside from the fact that you talk to posters and you eat more in one day than the rest of those Diva's eat in a week."

"Hey!" She giggled, swatting him on the arm. "Are you saying I'm a pig?"

"No, not at all," He replied with a twinkle in his eye. "I'm simply saying that half of those girls would benefit from eating a little more. They look like twigs."

They settled into a comfortable silence, watching the crew pack up the rest of the ring equipment into the loading zone at the end of the hall. She watched her companion carefully out of the corner of her eye, wondering what on earth had possessed him to sit down and talk to her of all people. He was a little off the cuff, but there was something about him she found charming. In the seven years she'd been there, they'd spoken maybe, once, twice? He seemed like a bit of a loner, which suited her just fine; she could understand him wanting to stick to himself, especially after all that happened to him over the last few years. Her heart went out to him for it. He had to be about the gentlest man she'd ever met, but if you asked anyone else, he'd have been labeled 'misunderstood' or 'out of control'. But that wasn't important right now.

Feeling her gaze upon him he turned to face her. "Yes?"

Blushing furiously once more she turned away, embarrassed he'd caught her giving him the once over. "Nothing."

"You sure?" He cocked an eyebrow in her direction, his dancing eyes accompanying his lazy grin, referring to the many times she'd interviewed him over the span of his career. "Now is your chance to get me to bare all Garcia ... astonish me with one of your hard hitting questions. Surprise me."

She snorted at the absurdity of it all. "In case you hadn't noticed, I try not to interview arrogant Superstars anymore. I leave that up to the other 'twigs'.

Regarding her with a smirk, he leaned his head back against the wall. "Touche."

Shuffling through his duffel he absently pulled out a notebook and began to scrawl away, leaving Lilian to her own devices. Her stomach grumbled for a third time as she began to search her own bag for a mint, chocolate, anything to tide her over. Glancing at her watch she sighed, knowing that Melina was at least an hour away, and that she could almost starve before then. Humming to herself she tried peering at what he was doing but he stopped her. Pouting in indignation she sighed again, shifting slightly to stare longingly at the vending machine. She needed sugar, and she needed it now.

"I like the red ones!" She blurted suddenly. His pen stopped dead, the younger man having no idea what was going on. Then again, that wasn't exactly a new thing for him ... "They remind me of being a little kid ... When I was twelve, there are a guy, Trey. He only liked the red skittles ... so on Valentines Day, I bought like five bags, and counted out all the red ones just for him. I put them in a bag in his desk, and he was just so happy when he found them ..."

Lifting his head from the page he looked at her in confusion. What the hell was she on about? Oh ... skittles. "I like the green ones. Sour."

"Ick." Crinkling up her nose in distaste she frowned. "No one likes the green ones. Especially not if they're sour ..."

"No," he corrected her gently, setting down his pen. "No one likes the black ones. They not only look gross, they taste gross too."

"Get out of town! There is no such thing as a black skittle!! They're purple!!"

"Black."

"Purple. Skittles come in 'every colour of the rainbow' ... black is NOT in the rainbow!!"

Putting on a serious face he tried hard not to smile, knowing she was right but enjoying being able to tease her. "Black ... as black as your favourite pair of boots that you wore last week."

"Purple," she retorted shyly, meeting his eyes. "The colour of your hair that time we all went out after ..."

Holding up his hands in surrender he winces a little. "Please. My stomach still does back flips at any mention of a Jager Bomb. I can't even look at Red Bull ..."

Eyes twinkling, she shot him a devious grin. "I'm going to remember that next time we all go out drinking together." Groaning, he shook his head as she laughed. "What about the orange ones?"

"Orange is good," he replied thoughtfully. "Kind of sweet with a sour edge ... but without being too sour. I like the orange ones, they remind me of ..of watching the sun rise at home," He smiled wistfully. God, how he would love to be at home right now, away from the craziness of this place. "Watching the morning sun peek up from behind the trees, lying on a deserted beach ... The orange ones are like that. Bright and feisty, like you"

"But they don't have as much pinch as the yellow ones," she counted, ignoring his last comment. "The yellow ones are bitter, and no one likes them at first. They kinda taste like ..."

"Like ..." He waited for her to continue, voice drifting off when he saw that something had obviously upset her. Hurriedly, he rushed to get the conversation back on track. "Like ... Someone leaving you," he finished uneasily. That was what yellow was all about. A yellow Post-it note, another good bye. Another 'It's over - it isn't me, and it's not you ... It's your job," note, left stuck to the front door. "You don't at all like it, but then you get used to it, and you know that you can't change it."

He didn't know why, but a small tear gathered in the pit of her eye, threatening to dribble down her cheek. Moving his hand to her cheek he brushed it away with his thumb, her watery green eyes meeting his. She attempted to look away, but his piercing gaze had her pinned.

"What's wrong?"

Lilian hesitated. Should she? Her stomach grumbled loudly, interrupting the moment. Mortified, she hid her face as he began to laugh, before breaking into a small burst of giggles with him. "I .. I need some sugar." She confessed guiltily. "I feel like I'm about to crash."

"Sugah?" He asked with a teasing tone. "Are you sure that's what you want?"

Eyes narrowing at the mischievous smile sliding across his face she eyed him suspiciously. "Yes .. sugar."

Surveying her face carefully he leaned in toward her, breath hot on her lips. Closing her eyes she tilted her head to the side, giving him the chance to press his own mouth firmly against hers. Letting out a soft sigh she kissed him back chastely, before pulling away uncertainly. "Woah ..."

"Never tell a man from the south you need some 'sugar', Sugah," he teased with a light drawl. "You never know what you're going to get."

"All I really ever wanted was some skittles," she reminded him.

"I'll give you a couple of bucks and we can try and get them out if you like," he offered. "Can't have you going hungry."

"It's alright," she muttered quietly, staring into his eyes. They were full of concern, deep and welcoming.. "I already got more than I asked for."

He looked mildly offended, before realising she didn't mean to be insulting. "You got your skittles," he shrugged flippantly, gesturing to himself. "What else could you want?"

Taking in his multi-coloured hair that was dyed virtually every colour of the rainbow, Lilian smiled softly. He was right. Sweet, just a little bit sour and full of colour ... if there was one word to describe him, that was it. Skittles. "You're right. I got my skittles."

Offering her his hand he helped her stand. Obliging, she rose with a smile, allowing him to wrap his arm around her waist. "Still need some sugar?"

"Sugar would be nice," she murmured. "Um, Jeff?"

"Hmmm?"

The youngest Hardy turned his head and found his arms full of Lilian as she wrapped herself tightly around him and kissed him. He didn't react straight away for the shock of how close she'd pulled her body against his and how deeply her lips were moving. It was then he registered her tongue teasing his lips apart, and he closed his eyes, giving himself to the moment. The former Tag and Intercontinental Champion moved so he was properly facing her and pulled her closer, enjoying the tiny gasp she gave out at the sudden movement.

Pulling away slowly he rested his nose against hers, breathing deeply. "I guess you're still a little hungry."

Ducking her head, she kissed him again. "Just a bit."

He was about to speak when Melina came barreling around the corner. "Lil, let's go."

Stepping back from Jeff, Lilian looked at her friend, cheeks tinged bright pink. "Actually ..."

Melina raised her eyes at Johnny, her boyfriend with his fingers laced through hers tightly. "Getting another lift back to the hotel, huh?"

"Uh, if that's okay ... I thought I'd take her," Jeff said, stepping up to take Lilian's hand.

The Women's Champion shoulders shook slightly as she laughed. "Last time I checked you didn't need our permission Jeff, if that's okay with Lil it's fine with us."

"We'll come by your room later, Lilian." Johnny broke in with a grin, trying to save the blonde further embarrassment. Nodding at Jeff, he threw a wave over his shoulder at the pair as he dragged Melina away. "See ya man."

"Later Johnny." Jeff grasped Lilian's small hands in his own as he turned to face her again. "Can I get you that pizza then?"

"I'd like that." She grinned softly. "One condition."

Slipping his hand into the back pocket of her sweats, Jeff directed her gently down the hall. She responded in kind, her hand almost getting lost in the back pocket of his jeans. She unconsciously moved a little closer to him, her hip bumping his as they moved. "And what's that?"

They stopped in front of the vending machine, him swooping down to pick up their bags without ever letting her go. Pushing her back slightly, he licked his teeth as she bit her lower lip. She was almost trembling with anticipation as his hands came up to grip her waist, wanting him to kiss her again. Stumbling a little, Lilian popped her foot up against the machine, trying to regain her balance. The little bag of skittles she had been wanting fell off their hook to the tray below, something that went unnoticed by them both.

"The one condition is ..."

"Yeah?" His voice was dangerously low as he examined her closely, eyes flicking over her face and body. "Tell me Lil."

"That I get to have some skittles afterwards."

"One pound bag or two?" He joked softly, coming in to brush his lips against hers.

"Bag? Are you kidding me?" Cupping his cheek she grinned cheekily. "I don't want no bag."

"I've got 225 pounds of skittles right here."


End file.
